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Harding Undergraduate Research Conference 2026 Student Presentation Abstracts, Harding University

Harding Undergraduate Research Conference

This document contains titles and abstracts for all the student presentations made at the 2026 Harding Undergraduate Research Conference.

The Psychology Of False Confessions– From Interrogation Lies To Courtroom Truths, Ashton L. Brophy

Harding Undergraduate Research Conference

A confession is defined as a “detailed written or oral statement in which a person admits to having committed some transgression, often acknowledging guilt for a crime” (Kassin & Gudjonsson, 2004). There are three areas where confession has been deemed important, even necessary, societally: “religion, psychotherapy, and criminal justice” (Kassin & Gudjonsson, 2004). In all three contexts, confession is seen as necessary for absolution and social acceptance, making the statements of guilt feel weighted. Indeed, in the American criminal justice system, confessions often appear to have the final say in the question of a defendant’s innocence or guilt. However, not …

Wmu Board Of Trustee Board Meeting, Thursday April 16 2026, Wmu Board Of Trustees

WMU Board of Trustees Meetings

Acceptance of the Agenda

Approval of the Minutes (February 12, 2026 and March 10, 2026)

Remarks by the Chair of the Board

Remarks by the President

Updates by the Faculty Senate President

Updates by the Western Student Association President

Updates by the Graduate Student Association President

Investing in WMU’s Future: Collaborating with University Advancement

WMU/AAUP Scholarship for First Generation Students

Public Comments Regarding Action Items

Action Items

• WMU Non-Discrimination and Sexual Misconduct Policies

Consent Items

• Liquor License: College of Aviation, November 6, 2026
• Utility Easement from Consumers Energy: Valley Oaks
• Scholarship or Endowment Amendment – Bernadine P. Carlson
• Curriculum Proposals …

Hr Is Not Your Friend: Grasping The Impact Of Representations Of Human Resource Practitioners In Workplace Comedies, Monica Martinez

Communication Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Setbacks And Stigmas: The Career Consequences Of Mental Health Treatment For Soldiers In Combat Roles, Micah Mark Marchand

LSU Master's Theses

This study examines how potential career consequences, perceived stigma, and confidentiality concerns influence mental health help-seeking among United States Army Soldiers, with particular attention to differences across Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) categories. Despite the availability of behavioral health services, many service members delay or avoid treatment due to fears that seeking care may negatively impact their careers, including risks to promotion, deployment eligibility, and retention. Guided by Systems Theory, this research explores how interconnected military structures, policies, and cultural norms shape these perceptions and behaviors.

Using a confidential survey design, data were collected from current service members and recently separated …

The Current - Volume 36 Issue 9, Nova Southeastern University

Student Newspapers

No abstract provided.

Toward A Local Governance Model For Green Building Regulation: Lessons From A Philippine City, Mikaela Amihan S. Arrosa, Aileen V. Lapitan

Journal of Public Affairs and Development

The study analyzed local governance in implementing green building regulations in a city in Metro Manila, Philippines, through a case study. Compliance rates were calculated by comparing projects with Green Building Compliance Certification to those with Green Building Pre-Compliance Certification issued by the city. The Delphi method explored environmental sustainability implications of compliance, while key informant interviews and policy landscape analysis identified the factors affecting Green Building Code management. Fewer than half of the pre-compliance and construction permit holders also received occupancy certificates. Three rounds of the Delphi method were conducted, resulting in consensus on recommendations to enhance governance mechanisms …

Motivating And Empowering Language Learners: Increasing Wtc Through Project-Based Open Badges, Käri Tanner

Instructional Psychology and Technology Graduate Student Projects

This design project investigates the use of project-based Open Badges to increase secondary students’ willingness to communicate (WTC) in a second language. Drawing on research identifying motivation and confidence as key predictors of communicative competence, the project integrates Project-Based Learning (PBL) with digital badging to support meaningful language use.

The intervention was piloted in a 9th-grade Spanish classroom in Davis School District, Utah. Six badges were developed across two instructional units, requiring students to complete authentic, performance-based tasks such as interpersonal conversations and presentational speaking. Students submitted evidence and reflections through a Canvas-integrated badging platform.

The design emphasized learner autonomy, …

Leaving Room For Rehabilitation In The Theory And Practice Of Criminal Restitution, Jessica C. Frisina

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

Rural Mass Incarceration And The Politics Of Punitiveness, Gregory Brazeal

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Intangible Nagpra, Trevor Reed

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

Wastewater Monitoring And Informed Consent: Interrogating The Research/Surveillance Binary Under The Common Rule, Morgan Cole

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

Subjective Feelings And Electrophysiological Responses To Love-Stimuli In Parasocial And Real-Life Romantic Love, Magda Martinez-Mata

Theses

People can have a crush on, fall in love with, or develop a romantic interest in media figures despite having no reciprocal interaction, which is known as parasocial love. The objective of this study was to evaluate subjective feelings for and event-related potential (ERP) responses reflecting attention to the parasocial beloved and to compare them to real-life love. Twenty-six participants who have a parasocial beloved were recruited. Sixteen of those had a real-life beloved as well. The participants answered questions about their love feelings and completed the Infatuation and Attachment Scales and the Parasocial Love Scale for both their parasocial …

Psychometric Properties Of Ecological Momentary Assessment Of Psychosocial Functioning In Adults With Complications Related To Type 1 Diabetes, Hayley Centola, Melissa Plegue, Dana Albright, Kara Mizokami-Stout, Lynn Ang, Jennifer Iyengar, Emily Hirschfield, Anna Kratz, Evan L. Reynolds, Brian C. Callaghan, Rodica Pop-Busui, Joyce M. Lee

Health Services and Informatics Research

Objectives: Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) is a promising methodology for examining the contextual impact of psychosocial functioning on chronic disease management in individuals with type 1 diabetes (T1D). Little is known regarding psychometric properties of EMA of psychosocial functioning in adults with complications related to T1D. The aim of this study is to explore the feasibility, reliability, and validity of EMA psychosocial measures examining depression, anxiety, diabetes-related distress, and fear of hypoglycemia in a sample of adult individuals with complications related to T1D.

Methods: Fifty-one participants with T1D completed a 14-day EMA of symptoms of depression, anxiety, diabetes-related distress, and …

Women In The Workplace: Changing Pressures Of Appearance And Behavior, Riley E. Bubacz

Faculty Curated Undergraduate Works

Since 1870, when women were first allowed in the London workforce, there has been discrimination between men and women, even with efforts to achieve equality. Today, women are still expected to do a disproportionate amount of the household labor in addition to maintaining a full-time job while dealing with the gender pay gap and the glass ceiling. This study seeks to understand the pressures that women still face in the workforce regarding appearance and behavior, and how this may contribute to experiences of burnout. In previous studies, women have expressed fears of being assertive or not wearing makeup due to …

Montana Kaimin, April 16, 2026, Students Of The University Of Montana, Missoula

Montana Kaimin, 1898-present

Student newspaper of the University of Montana, Missoula.

The Laureate - An Undergraduate Literary Journal, Amelia Perleberg

Honors Theses

This thesis reflects on the editorial and publication process of the 24th edition of The Laureate, an undergraduate literary arts journal, during the 2025-2026 academic year. This thesis displays the role of editor-in-chief and examines the responsibilities, challenges, and personal growth that accompanied leading the journal. Through overseeing submissions, editing creative works, coordinating with the Design Center, and organizing the launch event, this thesis explores the collaborative and creative work required to produce a successful publication. The Laureate accepts a wide range of creative works, including poetry, fiction pieces, personal essays, photography, painting, scripts, etc. allowing undergraduate students to …

Experiences Of Maternal Care In The Gypsy, Roma, And Traveller Population In The United Kingdom: A Cultural Care Model, Sarah Englebert Crowson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller women (GRT) in the United Kingdom face persistent maternal health disparities and show poor engagement with healthcare services. Exclusion, discrimination, and a lack of cultural competence from healthcare professionals contribute to poor health outcomes including preterm births; and GRT women have more babies born with congenital anomalies than non-GRT women in the United Kingdom. The purpose of this focused ethnographic qualitative study was to explore how self-identified GRT women living in the United Kingdom experienced maternal care and how cultural identity and social structures influenced their interactions with healthcare providers based on Madeleine Leininger’s cultural care …

Neural Responses To Acute Hypoxia And Hyperoxia, Daniel Graham, Jonathan Marsden, Alastair D. Smith, Gary Smerdon, Stephen D. Hall

School of Psychology

The brain's high metabolic demands make it highly sensitive to oxygen level changes, with both hypoxia and hyperoxia affecting cognitive and neural function. However, the underlying neural mechanisms remain unclear. This study aimed to characterise the effects of acute normobaric hypoxia and hyperoxia on neural function and perceptual thresholds using EEG, visual evoked potentials (VEPs), and critical flicker fusion (CFF) thresholds. In a single-blind, randomised, crossover design, thirty participants inhaled 10.5%, 21%, or 100% oxygen while resting-state EEG, VEPs, and CFF thresholds were recorded. Hypoxia reduced CFF thresholds in an exposure-dependent manner, while hyperoxia produced a smaller, transient reduction. Resting-state …

“An App That Truly Works For Us”: Co-Designing A Mobile Health Intervention To Support The Transition To Adulthood For The Latino Autism Community, Antonio F. Pagán, Miriam Ortiz, Breana Mccormack-Sadler, Ana Esparza, Grace Gogola, Cecilia Montiel-Nava, Katherine A. Loveland

Psychological Science Faculty Publications

Background: Autistic Latino young adults face significant disparities and a service cliff during their transition to adulthood. While mobile health (mHealth) applications offer a scalable solution, few evidence-based, culturally adapted programs have been successfully transitioned to mHealth platforms for this population. This study aimed to conduct a multi-stakeholder needs assessment to guide the development of a culturally adapted mHealth app designed to accompany the ¡Iniciando!/Launching! treatment program to support young adults transitioning to adulthood. Methods: This study used a multi-phase, mixed-methods design. An initial needs assessment survey was administered to three key stakeholder groups: autistic young adults ( …

Eleven Major Challenges Utah Girls And Women Face: A 2026 Update, April Townsend, Susan R. Madsen

Marketing and Strategy Faculty Publications

Decades of research—across Utah, the nation, and the globe—consistently show that reducing the challenges girls and women face begins with clearly identifying the issues.¹ Greater awareness lays the groundwork for meaningful, effective solutions. In Utah, the Utah Women & Leadership Project (UWLP) serves as the state’s primary entity for this work, producing hundreds of research reports that illuminate the barriers, challenges, and opportunities shaping the lives of girls, women, and families.

April 16, 2026, The Daily Mississippian

Daily Mississippian (all digitized issues)

No abstract provided.

Spartan Daily, April 16, 2026, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2026

Volume 166, Issue 34

Pacts: Critical Dispositions Necessary For A Culturally Responsive And Transformative School, Family, And Community Partnership For Black Pan-African Immigrant Students And Families, Jada Phelps, John Nimmo, Talgat Bainazarov, Zahra Abukar, Jamal Dar, Michelle Stratton, Leslie Ann Locke, Tianyang Xu

Leadership, Learning and Counseling Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study highlights a culturally responsive transformative school, family, and community partnership in the Western Region of the United States. The partnership served over 100 students and 300 parents of Black Pan-African immigrant descent responding to persistent school alienation. Using Critical Race Theory, Community Cultural Wealth, and a critical participatory action research design, we explored the structural forces shaping these experiences and the community-based responses that sought to resist them.

Data sources included professional development sessions, counterstorytelling, Theater of the Oppressed, asset mapping, and semi-structured interviews.

Findings revealed key partnership members centered five dispositions—Prophetic Activism, Asset- Based Ideology, Critical Consciousness, …

Investigating Racial Bias And Attribution Error In Grading Student Performance, Tony Reibel, Rachel Roegman

Mid-Western Educational Researcher

Standards-based grading (SBG) is a relatively recent alternative model of grading designed to increase the reliability of grading while reducing the influence of teacher biases that can distort student evaluations. This study investigated whether SBG mitigates race‑related bias and attribution errors through a mixed‑methods 3×2 factorial vignette experiment with in‑service teachers. A total of 219 teachers scored the same student essay using a common SBG rubric and provided a 1-4 proficiency score, a binary evaluation concerning success criteria and written feedback. “Learning profiles”– a description of the student’s current and past abilities – varied by tone (positive, negative, none: name-only) …

Managing The "Trauma Dump" In Personal Statement Writing, Faith Kurtyka, Amelia Harahap

Feminist Pedagogy

This critical commentary offers methods for helping students who may "trauma dump" in personal statements learn to write their stories for a wide audience in a way that preserves the writer's dignity.

Critical Explorations: Using Feminist And Artful Inquiry In An Adolescent Literature Class, Emily L. Freeman

Feminist Pedagogy

Using feminist and artful inquiry in teacher education courses creates spaces of resistance to normative modes of sharing knowledge. The Critical Explorations project is the final assignment for a required young adult and adolescent literature course and requires that students engage in creative modes of expression when sharing their research. The teaching activity opens up new possibilities for engagement with texts and research questions that works to disrupt traditional English Language Arts assessments.

Mental Health Equity For Sexual And Gender Minority Students At A Rural University: Evidence From Etsu’S Healthy Minds Study, Richard Mutua Kilonzo

Dr. Jay W. Boland Research Day

Universities nationwide are reporting rising psychological distress among students, yet inequities in mental health for sexual and gender minority (SGM) students—those whose sexual orientation or gender identity differs from the majority—remain poorly understood in rural settings. This project examines whether SGM students at a rural public university in Central Appalachia experience greater mental health burden, distinct barriers to care, and less affirming service environments than their non-SGM peers, testing the hypothesis that SGM students have both higher symptom levels and greater unmet need for care. Guided by Minority Stress Theory (which links stigma-related stressors to health outcomes) and a social–ecological …

Self-Compassion And Health In Sexual Minorities: Do Reductions In Internalized Homophobia, Better Sleep, And Less Depression Explain The Link?, Jordan Godfrey

Dr. Jay W. Boland Research Day

Purpose: LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual) individuals experience persistent health disparities, including poor general health. Internalized homophobia, or negative attitudes directed toward one’s identity, is related to such outcomes, potentially via its deleterious impact on sleep and mood. However, self-compassion, encompassing self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness, may mitigate these effects. Methods: We hypothesized that self-compassion would be positively associated with general health, and that this association would be serially mediated by internalized homophobia, sleep quality, and depression. Our national sample (N = 441) completed self-report measures. We conducted bivariate correlation and serial mediation regression analyses, covarying …

2024 Joint Annual Report On The Status Of Emergency Medical Services For Children, Tennessee. Department Of Health.

EMS and BLHCF Annual Report on Pediatric Emergency Care

No abstract provided.